Designs and parameters of vehicles for bottom mining machines

The article discusses the requirements for propellers of bottom mining machines for the development of deep-sea deposits of such unique minerals as ferromanganese nodules, deep-sea polymetallic sulfides, cobalt-manganese crusts. The main factor is the minimal impact on the underwater ecosystem. Based on existing prototypes of mining machines and patents, an analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of existing conceptual mechanisms for the movement of mining machines was carried out, as a result of which it was determined that the most promising machines are those that do not contact the surface of the seabed, but such machines have a number of disadvantages. No less promising today are walking and tracked vehicles. The paper presents simplified formulas for determining the required minimum traction force when moving underwater mining machines, and simplified formulas for determining the speed of movement were obtained, which also clearly indicates the advantage of floating mining machines. According to the obtained graphical dependencies, a set of parameters plays an important role in the productivity of mining machines, including the speed of movement, overall dimensions, weight, and shape of the machine. The article also describes a complex for the extraction of minerals dispersed along the seabed, developed by the staff of the Department of Mechanical Engineering of St. Petersburg State University with various configuration options for the complex depending on the type of mineral, as well as the density of its distribution.

Yungmeister D. A., Serzhan S. L., Korolev I. R., Isaev A. L., Fedorov E. V. Designs and parameters of vehicles for bottom mining machines. MIAB. Mining Inf. Anal. Bull. 2026;(2-1):145-158. [In Russ]. DOI: 10.25018/0236_1493_2026_21_0_145.

D.A. Yungmeister¹, Professor, Professor, e-mail: iungmeister@yandex.ru, ORCID ID: 0000-0001-7858-8340,
S.L. Serzhan¹, Cand. Sci. (Eng.), Head of Mining and Transport Systems, e-mail: Serzhan_SL@pers.spmi.ru, ORCID ID: 0000-0002-2248-9156,
I.R. Korolev, Cand. Sci. (Eng.), Chief Specialist, Saint-Petersburg branch of Prostech Engineering, 199026, Saint-Petersburg, Russia, e-mail: rom8592009@yandex.ru, ORCID ID: 0000-0001-5247-9453,
A.L. Isaev¹, Cand. Sci. (Eng.), Assistant Professor, e-mail: Isaev_AI@pers.spmi.ru, ORCID ID: 0000-0003-2246-8440,
E.V. Fedorov¹, Graduate Student, e-mail: s255014@stud.spmi.ru, ORCID ID: 0009-0006-4595-5996,
¹ Empress Catherine II Saint-Petersburg Mining University, 199106, Saint-Petersburg, Russia.

E.V. Fedorov, e-mail: s255014@stud.spmi.ru.

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